Danggeun Market, a South Korea-based e-commerce marketplace backed by internet groups Kakao and SoftBank, raised $33m in series C funding yesterday, TechCrunch reported.
Venture capital firms Goodwater Capital and Altos Ventures co-led the round, which boosted the company’s funding to $40.5m altogether according to TechCrunch.
Founded in 2015, Danggeun runs a peer-to-peer marketplace called Karrot that enables users to purchase and sell second-hand goods, but only to users located within a short distance.
The business model relies on densely populated cities in South Korea, and the company is focusing on international markets with a similar demographic as part of its expansion efforts.
Karrot launched in the UK in November 2019 and the series C proceeds will support entry into an undisclosed additional country by the end of 2020. Danggeun slowed down its expansion timeline due to the Covid-19 pandemic, having originally targeted three new markets this year.
The funding will also allow the company to bolster its monetisation tools and double down on Karrot’s community networking features in South Korea.
SoftBank Ventures Korea, a local corporate venturing subsidiary of SoftBank, led a $5.3m round for Dangguen in 2018 that included Kakao’s investment arm, Kakao Ventures, and VC fund Strong Ventures. TechCrunch also identified private equity firm Capstone Partners as an existing backer.
